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BlackBerry is a mostly secure platform, but information on a new Zeus Trojan that has migrated to the BlackBerry has recently been announced. In an effort to help keep you and your fellow BlackBerry users safe, we want to share the details of the trojan. According to infoseland “The malware allows remote access of infected Blackberry devices by the attacker, who can then change the SMS message default number, add a new device administrator, control blocked call lists, and even turn the device on and off. The Trojan also removes itself from the list of installed applications to avoid scanning and detection by antivirus software.”

Cert Polska reports that once the trojan is downloaded, you have a few removal options. The trojan sent the file cert.jad . Upon it’s installation, you’ll find sertificate, which is either sertificate.jar or sertificate.cod under Options -> Applications. Delete this application and reboot your phone. If this is unsuccessful or if you’d like a more thorough approach, you can do a full wipe of the device.

Lookout is a new app for BlackBerry that aims to prevent your smartphone from security risks such as malware, viruses and hackers. The app is still in Beta, and while it’s difficult to determine whether it’s effective, it’s a free app so there isn’t much to lose. Features include:

Scans every app you download to make sure it’s safe.

Backs up your contacts and photos and allows you to access that data from any web browser.

Routine data syncs that can be scheduled to run automatically.

Restore your data to an existing phone or a new phone.

Allow users to easily track down their device and find it if it is lost or stolen.

Remotely wipe the data from your Blackberry if it is permanently lost.

In Mike Lazaridis’ interview with Walt Mossberg on D7, Walt asked if RIM has seen a virus enter the BlackBerry platform. Mike shrugged and said “not to my knowledge.” Walt should have known better. Research and testing of BlackBerry devices proves that the device is the most trusted with respect to security.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued a statement warning of a coming mobile virus epidemic. The NSF conducted a study where mobility data from over six million anonymous mobile phone users was used to create a comprehensive picture of the threat mobile phone viruses pose to users. The results of this study, published in the May 22 issue of Science, indicate that a highly fragmented market share has effectively hindered outbreaks thus far. Further, their work predicts that viruses will pose a serious threat once a single mobile operating system’s market share grows sufficiently large.

“We haven’t had a problem so far because only phones with operating systems, so-called ‘smart phones’, are susceptible to viral infection,” explained Marta Gonzalez, one of the authors of the publication. “Once a single operating system becomes common, we could potentially see outbreaks of epidemic proportion because a mobile phone virus can spread by two mechanisms: a Bluetooth virus can infect all Bluetooth-activated phones in a 10-30 meter radius, while Multimedia Messaging System (MMS) virus, like many computer viruses, spreads using the address book of the device. Not surprisingly, hybrid viruses, which can infect via both routes, pose the most significant danger.”

While RIM dominates in enterprise sales, and they’re seeing an increase in consumer adoption, it isn’t far fetched to see BlackBerry devices becoming the most prevalent smartphone globally. If this is the case, a mobile viral epidemic is of no concern.

The folks at Tech2 posted about a white paper published on BlackBerry security, namely what is lawfully interceptible, and how to avoid hacking. Part of the paper is based on a prototype trojan that could be delivered to a BlackBerry on BES and leave the company’s server unguarded. It was developed by an information security company, who released the information to RIM before taking it public. The trojan, called BBProxy, works by allowing a hacker to essentially piggyback on any connections made to BES. Once installed on a BlackBerry, the hacker can connect to it via computer and have complete access to everything the BlackBerry connects to. The article does include some simple steps administrators can take to prevent it from working, but fair warning: it is heavy on IT-speak. Earlier security reports acknowledged the threat of Trojans on BlackBerry, but we’ve yet to see an instance in the wild…

Sure there’s nothing especially friendly about listening in on your significant other’s affairs, but it hardly constitutes malevolent intent. Security firm F-Secure has branded spy application FlexiSpy as the first Trojan for BlackBerry, much to FlexiSpy’s ire. There have been previous demonstrations of the viral capabilities in BlackBerrys, but few individuals have gone so far as identify a particular program as a BlackBerry virus. We’re going to have to side with FlexiSpy on this one – sure the software’s underhanded, and maybe even a security threat, but it’s no Trojan.